confessions
"blessed is the one whose sin is forgiven." psalm 32:1
I was looking through a notebook today that I had been keeping the last few months. The notebook is full of thoughts, grateful lists, prayers, grocery lists, poor drawings. But mostly the writings contain confessions. As I read it I was struck with this question, "is this how the Christian life is supposed to look?"
You see, a lot of the content was me confessing the same old stuff over and over again. It was me seeing my impatience, lack of love and lack of trust. It was me getting gut-wrenching honest about my shortcomings and praying not only for forgiveness, but for a change in action, or thought, or attitude.
I felt concerned about the state of my relationship with the Lord. Shouldn't my life be full of "holier" things? More thanks? More praise?
I felt concerned about the state of my relationship with the Lord. Shouldn't my life be full of "holier" things? More thanks? More praise?
Psalm 32 says, "when I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.' And you forgave the guilt of my sin."
I am not saying that we shouldn't strive to give thanks more often or to praise our God more than we do. But I don't think we need to feel bad about our constant confessions because the confessions lead to more thanks and higher praise.
When I see my impatience again and again, when I come to the Lord and confess, I get to experience his grace abound over me. I thank him for that. I praise him for his character of forgiveness and goodness. I also praise him for his great patience.
During his time on earth Jesus said to repent and believe. He said to recognize your sin, confess it, and then live a life dependent on Jesus for the power we need to fight it. Jesus called us to a life of confession. He called us to be a people not afraid to name their impatience, their problem with porn, their propensity to bitterness, their unforgiveness.
The Christian life is a life of confession. It is a life of realizing that we are so utterly dependent on our Jesus. And this kind of living is a holy living. It is a life that speaks into the humanness of our form and gives us eyes to see the greatness of our God in comparison. And this leads to gratitude, to praise, to adoration.
I am not saying that we shouldn't strive to give thanks more often or to praise our God more than we do. But I don't think we need to feel bad about our constant confessions because the confessions lead to more thanks and higher praise.
When I see my impatience again and again, when I come to the Lord and confess, I get to experience his grace abound over me. I thank him for that. I praise him for his character of forgiveness and goodness. I also praise him for his great patience.
During his time on earth Jesus said to repent and believe. He said to recognize your sin, confess it, and then live a life dependent on Jesus for the power we need to fight it. Jesus called us to a life of confession. He called us to be a people not afraid to name their impatience, their problem with porn, their propensity to bitterness, their unforgiveness.
The Christian life is a life of confession. It is a life of realizing that we are so utterly dependent on our Jesus. And this kind of living is a holy living. It is a life that speaks into the humanness of our form and gives us eyes to see the greatness of our God in comparison. And this leads to gratitude, to praise, to adoration.
